The {Euphemism} Community
“What a wonderful bridge to the “so-called rainbow” community! Methinks this is what ol’ Clive Staples would have called “pre-evangelism”!”
A commenter offered me this “complement” in response to my piece ROY G BIV - which addresses the so-called rainbow flag.
I’m grateful for such comments, as they provide opportunities for further reflection on things.
It goes without saying that the Secular First Commandment is “Thou shalt not offend thy neighbor.” And of course, this commandment does require some evangelical interpretation. What the SFC really means is we should not offend certain people. And a big part of not being offensive is the adoption of euphemistic language.
And in our culture, one euphemism isn’t enough. We go through generations of euphemisms. George Carlin noted this phenomenon by way of a combat condition that was called “Shell Shock” in World War One. He pointed out how direct the term is: two syllables, right to the point. In World War II, a different term was employed: “Battle Fatigue.” It just sounds nicer. “Fatigue” is a softer word than “Shock.” And we’ve padded it with another two syllables. During the Korean War, this condition was known as “Operational Exhaustion.” “Exhaustion” is even softer than “Fatigue,” and we’re now up to eight syllables. And during Vietnam, the name changed to “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.” Now we’ve really buried “Shell Shock” beneath layers of euphemisms and are still at eight syllables.
Shell Shock is a very real condition, no matter what you call it. But by making it sound softer and more like clinical jargon, are we really doing a service to those who are suffering from it?
This “euphemism treadmill” is often employed in matters of political correctness to keep everyone off-balance as to what the correct term is - especially in matters of ethnicity and sexuality. And woe be to the poor sap that uses a term that was acceptable in 2020, but is no longer au courant in 2021. After all, it is 2021, as the kids say.
Sin has become fertile ground for euphemism. In response to the pro-life movement, the pro-abortionist side of the debate expressed a preference for the term “pro-choice.” It takes the matter of life and death out of the conversation and recasts the matter with a similitude to standing at the hotel vending machine and making a choice between an overpriced Coke and an overpriced Pepsi. And who, after all, would be against your right to choose your preferred soft-drink - a fundamental right that is as American as French fries.
And so, fornication is “living together.” Despising preaching and the Word of God is “sleeping in.” Murder is “making him comfortable.” Racism is “social justice.” Rioting is “peacefully protesting.” Abortion is “reproductive freedom.” Violating consciences and denying religious liberty is “equality.” Gossip is “just talking.” Enthusiasm is “being open to the Spirit.” Rebelling against the order of creation in family life is “empowering women.” Theft is “addressing economic injustice.” Syncretism is “expressing solidarity with diverse communities of faith.” I’m sure our readers can come up with many more such examples.
Sexuality is laden with euphemisms and new terms. The once standard term “homosexual” has gone by the wayside. It was long ago replaced with “gay” - a word that in the ancient days of the 20th century, meant “happy.” But “gay” was too blunt and monosyllabic. And so The Acronym was introduced: In my article, I traced one trajectory of The Acronym’s euphemism treadmill: (LGBT, LGBTQ, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIAA, LGBTTQQIAAP, LGGBDTTTIQQAAPP, and LGBTTQQFAGPBDSM). The Newspeak Dictionary now contains entire lists of words of obscure sexual deviancies all competing for flag-space in new and exciting vexillological configurations. Some of these new sexualities were called to mind in a viral video of a German legislator addressing the Bundestag.
Euphemistic Ministry is a relatively new approach to sin and grace.
Many years ago, in the last millennium, in fact, long before I went to seminary, I had a dear friend involved in a particular public sin. A group of his friends wanted to sit down with him and try to talk some sense into him. I had no idea what I was doing. I asked my pastor for advice. He said, “Don’t use euphemisms. Use words like ‘wrong’ and ‘sin.’” Indeed, those were the Bad Old Days of dead orthodoxy, Law and Gospel, and smoking on airplanes - long before we became wise and kind and mindful - and learned how to do “pre-evangelism.” In fact, in matters of confronting sin (as opposed to C.S. Lewis-style Apologetics), what came before the Gospel (the Evangel) was not euphemistic bridge-building, but Law. Of course, we now know today that this was wrong, er, maybe a better way to put it is: “a method of diminished utility” or some such.
At any rate, we are not engaging in what Clive Staples referred to as “Chronological Snobbery.” Oh no, not at all. It’s just that we know so much more now than we did then. And as poll after poll teaches us, we really need to listen to millennials. They have so much to teach us. Far more than dead white men like C.F.W. Walther with his “Lawn Gospel” silliness. In fact, were C.S. Lewis alive today, he might even refer to Satanists as “The Screwtape Community.”
In fact, referring to sin by means of a euphemism followed by “Community” is also in vogue. There are no more homosexuals, as they are now members of the LGBT Community. Indeed, there are many sub-communities within the People of The Acronym, some involving what are clearly healthy behaviors including “gay leather and puppy play.” It’s all very innocent, and especially attractive to children. Who could possibly be against the LGBT version of Comfort Dog Ministry? The Church needs to build bridges and stop being so judgy. After all, Jesus said, “Judge not,” right?
Maybe we should include some bridges to such communities during coffee and donut hour, Sunday School, or Bible Class. Note to self: take it easy on the glitter. The Altar Guild will blow a gasket trying to clean that stuff up.
We actually see such bridge-building pre-evangelism in the Bible - especially in matters of the unrepentant: those who see their sin as a point of pride. We saw a very early example with the LGBT Community in the Book of Genesis. Who could ever forget that bridge over the Red Sea when the children of Israel engaged in pre-evangelism with the Egyptian Military Community? Or how about Moses’s bridge-building pre-evangelism with Korah and the Egalitarian Ministry Community? We see Elijah’s bridge-building pre-evangelism with King Ahab and the Religiously Diverse Community. And of course, our Lord Himself engaged in bridge-building pre-evangelism with the Currency Exchange Community and the Self-Righteous Jesus-Questioning Community.
Obviously, we live in different times. We need to be nice and winsome at all costs. This is no longer the twentieth century when the old pastors said, “Don’t use euphemisms.” The new Bridge Building Ministry of Pre-Evangelism has finally gotten it right. When confronting the world’s twisted understanding of right and wrong, when dealing with those who are so unrepentant that they use the term “pride”, and they are bolstered by the power of the state and the corporation and the dominant cultural organs to the detriment of the Church’s confession based on the Word of God - the last thing we need to do is “use words like ‘wrong’ and ‘sin.’” People might get the idea that we are out of step with the secular world. No indeed, we need to build bridges to the {euphemism} communities. We need to get with the program, fly our own freak-flag, build bridges, and stop being judgy. The most important thing is to be liked, and we certainly need to be wishy-washy for the sake of our children, who will be growing up into a culture with all sorts of undiscovered {Euphemism} Communities.
We need to invert my pastor’s advice to this: “Use euphemisms. Don’t use words like ‘wrong’ and ‘sin.’” For that is true bridge-building pre-evangelism.
After all, it is 2021.